"Bricks in Fire" sets to music the story of a brick factory in Böhringen, a district of Radolfzell on Lake Constance in southern Germany, and the associated part of Rickelshausen. The title "Bricks in Fire" has two meanings. It refers to the firing of clay bricks in the factory and to a major fire that destroyed the brickworks itself in 1988.

The piece begins with a fanfare-like opening representing Rickelshausen Castle, where the owners of the brick factory lived. Böhringen is home to one...